Journalist Peter Lloyd has slammed England goalkeeper Mary Earps for winning the Sports Personality of the Year award and has said the “BBC engineered the outcome.”
The Lionesses goalkeeper scooped up the award at the annual BBC show earlier this week in a controversial win.
It’s the second year running that a women’s footballer has picked up the coveted prize, with Euros star and Earps’ England teammate Beth Mead winning last year.
The award is given to a sports personality each year who has shown what the public deem as the “most talent” but Peter Lloyd said that it would be “naive” to believe that BBC didn’t “engineer” this outcome.
Speaking on GB News he said: “Its quite naive to believe that the BBC is going to be really transparent and not be doing some kind of jiggery pokery behind the scenes in order to engineer their own outcome.
“All the people behind Sports Personality of the Year all have an agenda to promote women’s football. This was a foregone conclusion. I say leak the data. Show who voted in what numbers?”
He later added: “There are man hating feminists at the BBC who were really desperate to push this women’s football thing.
“It’s not really about football. It’s about invading male space. They hate that men are worshipped in football. They hate that it’s cultural envy gone nuts. This is their reparations.”
Mary Earps is the English goal keeper
PA
Peter isn’t the only person who feels this way. Journalist Piers Morgan and football manager Joey Barton both took to X to share their outrage at the win.
However, broadcaster Anna May Mangan explained that she thought that “men just can’t tolerate a female winner.”
She said: “She’s an inspiration. And I’ll tell you something Joey Barton is such a has-been. The kids I know who love football all know who Mary Earp and none of them have got a clue who Joey Barton is.
“He’s so offensive and he’s forgetting that women’s football is so popular now among boys, girls and adults and she’s a really worthy winner.
“People dissed her so much after the World Cup final. Admittedly they didn’t win. But what an achievement to get there.
“They didn’t even make her a shirt and when, after lobbying, they did make her shirt, it sold out in 5 minutes. So for God’s sake, let’s give her credit where credit’s due. She’s popular, she’s brilliant, she’s inspirational.”
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton also weighed in and said: “She got the most votes and that’s what it’s all about.
“The public voted for her and at the end of the day I think women’s football in the last two or three years has come on leaps and bounds.
“The goalkeeping position was always very weak to me, the weakest part of the women’s game. And I think Mary’s done a lot to elevate that. I like her style.
“She’s shouts at her defence she encourages people. She gives a few rollickings and shows a lot of passion and I think that is a big part of goalkeeping to me.”
